hello, you're watching bbc world news. i'm adnan nawaz. our top story this hour: after six years of civil war, what next for syria? with large parts of the country in ruins and millions displaced, talks aimed at resolving the conflict are due to begin shortly. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: claims in the gambia that $11 million of state money is missing after the departure of long time leader yahya jammeh. we have a special report. this is what democracy in africa can look like. a dictatorial leader peacefully leaving the country after a general election. the white house begins talks to move the us embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. i'm sally bundock. in business: nothing wrong with the phones! it was all in the battery. samsung explains the reason it's galaxy note 7 mobile phones caught fire and had to be recalled. and the uk government is set

to outline its industrial strategy but with brexit looming large where will any government money go? it's a war that's been raging for the past six years. the images of destruction have been seen worldwide, the suffering of the people has been clear, and many of them have fled the country, helping to create an international refugee crisis. the latest effort to end syria's civil war begins shortly in the kazakh capital, astana. for the first time, talks have been convened by russia, turkey, and iran. also for the first time, representatives of syria's main armed rebel groups are leading the opposition delegation. catriona renton reports. in the hours before the talks, this footage on social media purports to show that airstrikes on rebel held areas of syria are still happening. last month a ceasefire was

negotiated in aleppo after the syrian government took back control of the east of the city. these were the scenes as civilians and rebel fighters left. the relentless conflict here led to an enormous loss of life and devastation. it is understood the ceasefire has largely held. the next step, peace talks, brokered by regime allies russia and iran and rebel bacca turkey. major rebel groups will be represented but militants including so—called islamic state are excluded. leaving damascus for kazakhstan, syria's un ambassador spoke with journalists on the plane. translation: of course there is a work schedule and agenda for this meeting. the goal of which isa number of for this meeting. the goal of which is a number of points. installing ceasefire lines, separating the armed groups that agreed to go to asta na, armed groups that agreed to go to astana, agreeing on a ceasefire or the need for the ceasefire, separating those groups from the al—nusra front and is. finding common ground with the participants

of asta na common ground with the participants of astana to fight terrorism together. kazakhstan has been chosen as the neutral ground for the talks, however the format of the meetings in the capital, astana, remains unclear. whether representatives will meet face—to—face in one room oi’ will meet face—to—face in one room or two. translation: the event is not a simple one, you understand. the syrian crisis has lasted six yea rs the syrian crisis has lasted six years now. therefore we of course are not looking for a simple solution to these old issues. nevertheless we are putting every effort to bring the position of the site involved closer together in the syrian conflict. in the syrian capital, damascus, there is hope. translation: we must seek to reconcile and restore the good spirit to syria. we need the good to overwhelm us and the crisis to end. translation: i wish for the end of violence and hope the ceasefire will hold and be successful. over the course of the conflict in syria more than 300,000 people have been killed, 11 million displaced, many

are approaching these talks with optimism, hoping to give this peaceful path of chance. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet reports on why astana was chosen as a place to host the latest negotiations. this is kazakhstan. at the start of a new year, another new effort to try to resolve the syrian crisis. and we have come to the foreign ministry here to meet the deputy foreign minister, roman vasilenko, to find out why it should be the capital of kazakhstan, astana, as they call it here, that should be hosting this new round of talks. why do you want to be hosting such a difficult round of negotiations? well, astana was chosen as a platform to host these talks because kazakhstan is objective and neutral, and kazakhstan has built very good relations with all nations. we have very friendly ties with russia, turkey, iran, the european union and the united states. and, over the 25 years of its independence, kazakhstan has truly built a reputation as an honest broker in international diplomacy,

across issues such as the iran nuclear talks or the crisis in ukraine. and just last year our president, nursultan nazarbayev, played a key role in helping russia and turkey mend the rift in their relations. and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that, if this didn't happen last year, the talks we are about to witness would not have been happening. but it is widely seen as a geopolitical shift, as well. as russia assumes the dominant role as an external player in syria, the talks have moved to the russian orbit. well, as i said, we are an independent nation. kazakhstan has built very good ties with both russia and the united states. we are a neutral ground. we are an honest broker. so we here provide a platform for talks which are to be seen as a stepping stone for the relaunch of the geneva process, under the un auspices. and we never forget that ourjob

is to create the most conducive environment for the talks, so that they succeed in moving forward the process, and we don't particularly pay attention in whose area of interest it is. it's in common interest to help syria, and the war. deputy foreign minister of kazakhstan roman vasilenko speaking to our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. the minister has just been quoted saying they are trying to establish whether the two sides will meet face—to—face at these talks in asta na. face—to—face at these talks in astana. we will keep you updated. a special adviser to the gambia's new president, adama barrow, says more than 11 million dollars are thought to be missing from the state coffers following the departure of long—time ruler, yahya jammeh. president barrow remains in senegal, and it is unclear when he'll return to the gambia to take office. yahya jammeh was flown out of the country after pressure from regional leaders, who'd threatened to use force to remove him. our africa correspondent alastair leithead reports from banjul. it was the first chance gambians had

to celebrate in the country's only ever peaceful change of president in half a century. at the gates of state house they gathered, knowing a new guard is on its way into power. the crowd welcomed foreign troops, a regionalforce led by the senegalese. the threat of military action helped remove a president who refused to accept a election defeat. now their extra security will help smooth the transition. 2a hours earlier, former president jammeh had come to the airport, finally persuaded by regional heads of state it was time to leave the gambia. this is what democracy in africa can look like, a dictatorial leader of 22 years peacefully leaving the country after a general election. it has taken a longer

than many people thought, it took the persuasion of presidents of neighbouring countries and the threat of force, but he is going. with an eccentric flourish, he boarded a plane ultimately taking him on to a new home in equatorial guinea, but there is concern over how much state money he took with him. it was an emotional moment for those waving him off. yahya jammeh still has many supporters here, just not enough to win an election. what he did is the best thing for the country and we thank him for that, we are saying, thank you, mr president, president yahya jammeh, for leaving the gambia without blood, coming in without bloodshed and going out without bloodshed, so we say thank you to president yahya jammeh. with their old president gone, the streets are getting busier again after days deserted amid the fighting. and there's one must—have item amid the market. they could've been jailed for selling these a week ago. musician silky criss had to avoid the authorities as he and his crew spray—painted the city. that was really, really,

really unsafe, and then, like, i was going to be one of those people that has been tortured or killed or missing and all that, but then i and my team didn't care about that, we just wanted to free our people. president adama barrow is still in senegal. he says he'll be back when it's safe. others who'd fled across the border are already heading home to a new country led by a new democratically elected leader. a mystery worthy of poirot has been solved. yes, an enormous investigation that has taken yes, an enormous investigation that has ta ken many yes, an enormous investigation that has taken many months. this is the

electronics giant samsung releasing the results of its investigation into the flagship galaxy note 7 smart phones. in october last year the phones were recalled because some had overheated and caught fire. the company today confirmed problems with the design saying the manufacturing of batteries was to blame, not the actual phones. the note 7 was supposed to rival apple's iphone 7 but instead, the device caused massive damage to the company's profits, and its brand. last year, over 100 of the phones spontaneously burst into flames. this forced samsung to halt production and recall millions globally months before the all important christmas sales period. the debacle almost entirely wiped out the company's mobile business profit in the third quarter of last year, which is samsung's core business. and this dragged total profits at the company down by 30%, to their lowest level in two years. but it didn't end there. samsung itself predicted another three billion dollars could be wiped

off profits over the next two quarters. the total cost of the recall has been estimated at around $5.3 billion, but the damage to the company's brand could prove harder to predict. and it has also announced today it will not be launching the next new phonein will not be launching the next new phone in february as planned, so we will be getting an expert view on the outlook for samsung in around 20 minutes in world business report. also looking at events here in the uk. the uk prime minister theresa may will today launch the government's vision for an industrial strategy for britain. smart energy, robotics, artificial intelligence and 5g mobile network technology are some of the areas that could receive support through a new industrial strategy challenge fund. a lack of skills is a perennial gripe of british business. added to possible future restrictions on hiring from the eu

and many businesses worry where they will get the right staff from. we will be talking about that and we will have all of the other business stories in around 70 minutes, so i will bejoining you stories in around 70 minutes, so i will be joining you then. excellent, thank you very much, sally. in a radical break from long—established policy, the white house has begun talks to move the us embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. president trump spoke to the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, by telephone on sunday, and invited him to washington next month. israel sees the whole ofjerusalem as its capital. the palestinians want eastjerusalem as the capital of their future state. earlier, israel approved the construction of 560 homes for settlers in occupied eastjerusalem. david willis reports from washington. as his senior staff were sworn in in the east room of the white house, donald trump put aside his differences with the media and turned his attention

to foreign policy. one of the most controversial pledges of his campaign was to relocate the us embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. and while donald trump may not be the first presidential candidate to propose such a move, he mayjust be the first to follow through. a statement from the white house said the united states was in the early stages of talks on the subject. in a telephone conversation with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu on sunday, mr trump affirmed a desire to strengthen what the white house called, "the special relationship between the united states and israel" and is said to have offered his unprecedented commitment to israel's security. the statement went on to say that he had extended an invitation to mr benjamin netanyahu to visit the united states next month. all of which represents a thawing of the somewhat frosty relationship

israel enjoyed with the 0bama administration, yet the very notion of moving the us embassy, while it would be hailed by the israelis, would incur the wrath of the palestinians, who have already taken to the streets in protest. they lay claim tojerusalem as part of an eventual palestinian state, hence moving the could derail the peace process. translation: we say to mr trump that we hope he will not move embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem becausejerusalem from the israeli point of view is a united city, and this is not correct and illegal. therefore, moving the embassy to any place will be a step ahead of anything that may happen in the future and would damage the peace process. we hope to stop this and to start negotiations depending on international legitimacy. donald trump and benjamin netanyahu also see eye to eye on another crucial issue for the region, scrapping a 2015 agreement for iran

to reduce its uranium stockpile in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. both leaders favour a harder line towards iran. but their support for relocating the american embassy could prove incendiary, not least to american allies in the middle east, such as saudi arabia, jordan or egypt, countries donald trump may need to rely on if he is to achieve his wider goal of eliminating it islamic state. in other news: the british prime minister is under pressure to explain why parliament wasn't told about a reported misfire of the uk's nuclear weapons systems in june. it happened just weeks before a crucial vote on the future

of the trident missile system, when theresa may urged parliament to back its renewal. so far she's declined to say whether she knew about the malfunction. rescue workers in central italy are continuing to search for 23 people still missing after a hotel was buried by an avalanche on wednesday. nine survivors have been pulled from the ruins, with six people having been confirmed dead. united airlines has resumed its domestic flights in the united states, after a computer glitch had caused all of them to be grounded on sunday. planes on international routes were not hit by the problem. in october, thousands of united passengers were delayed worldwide after a computer issue halted departures. still to come on bbc world news: do you remember this? the drug—fuelled film that defined a generation. two decades later, the train—spotting gang are back for more. the shuttle challenger exploded

after liftoff. the seven astronauts on board are believed to have been killed. why the evening tahrir square, the heart of official cairo, was in the hands of the demonstrators. they were using the word revolution. the earthquake single outbuildings and brought them down in seconds. tonight, the search for any survivors has an increasing desperation about it as the hours pass. the new government is firmly of the entire republic of eudunda. moscow got its first taste of western fast food as mcdonald opened their biggest restaurant, in pushkin square. the hundreds of muscovites will not find it cheaper, with a big mac costing 100 days' wages for the average russian. this is bbc world news,

i'm adnan nawaz. the latest headlines: fresh peace talks aimed at resolving the syrian conflict are due to begin in kazakhstan. the negotiations have the backing of russia, iran and turkey. allegations in the gambia that millions of dollars could be missing from state coffers, following the departure of long—time ruler yahya jammeh. the socialist party in france will choose between a former prime minister and a staunch left—winger for its candidate in april's presidential election. the first round of voting has left manuel valls to contest the candidacy with benoit hamon, who says he wants to legalise cannabis. but the eventual winner won't be the only left—wing candidate. lucy williamson's report from paris contains some flash photography. he was the liberal prime minister who divided the socialist party. now, manuel valls wants to unite it as its candidate for president. his opponent for the run—off, benoit hamon, is offering voters a very different brand of socialism, including a monthly payment of 750

euros to every french citizen, regardless of income. translation: by putting me ahead of the other candidates, you are sending a clear message of hope and renewal. you want to write a new page for the left, and for france. turnout was much lower than in the socialist primary five years ago, a sign that few here believe they are choosing the next president. it's going to be very little chance for the left wing, because i the think people are so disappointed in francois hollande's presidency. but there's still hope. even if we don't win in the next election, it will set, kind of, the mood for what's going to happen, and what type of a position we can do. when it comes to finding a left—wing candidate for the presidency, the socialist party race is only part of the story. after five years of president hollande's unpopular government, interest in this primary is low, and two of the most popular

left—wing politicians aren't even taking part. emmanuel macron left the government last year, and is drawing big crowds to his own independent presidential campaign. jean—luc melenchon, the leader of the france's far—left party, is also running on his own ticket. whoever wins the socialist nomination next sunday will leave left—wing voters with a choice — split their votes among three different parties, or unite behind one of the candidates on offer. they might be celebrating now, but to stand any chance of keeping the far—right front national from power, the socialist candidate may have to choose who they want to help, their opponents on the right or their rivals on the left. hungary is holding a day of national

mourning to honour those killed in italy. the pavement outside their secondary school in budapest is filled with flowers and candles. a bus crashed on a motorway near the italian city of verona. yordano ventura, a starting pitcher for the kansas city royals, has died in a car crash in the dominican republic. the 25—year—old helped the royals win the world series in 2015 and was renowned for his fastball, which he regularly threw at speeds in excess of 100 mph. in a separate accident, former major league player andy marte was also killed in a car crash in the caribbean country. he played for teams including the atlanta braves and the cleveland indians. in tennis, serena williams is through to the quarter—finals of the australian open tennis, with a straight—sets win over ba rbora strycova. in the opening set, williams was broken three times by the world number 16, but the american came through 7—5, 6—4. she will play britain'sjohanna

konta next, who got past the ekaterina makarova 6—1, 6—4. the atlanta falcons will play the new england patriots in super bowl li next month. the falcons have reached american football's biggest game for only the second time in their history. they beat the green bay packers 411—21 in the nfc championship game. quarterback matt ryan threw four touchdowns and ran one in himself. the patriots are the afc champions, after they beat the pittsburgh steelers 36—17. this year's super bowl is in houston on 5 february. chelsea are eight points clear at the top of the english premier league table. they beat hull 2—0 at stamford bridge on sunday evening. diego costa and gary cahill scored the goals, but the game was marred by hull's ryan mason suffering a fractured skull. he was taken to hospital for surgery, and is said to be in a stable condition. the defending champions lost 3—0 at southampton. leicester's total of 21 points from 22 games is the joint—worst tally for a reigning top—division champion in england.

southampton are up to 11th, while leicester stay in 15th place. when the film trainspotting came out in the 1990s, its blend of drugs and petty crime in edinburgh became an unlikely global hit. more than two decades later, the original cast and director have reunited for a sequel, catching up with the characters as they reach middle age. the film had its world premiere in edinburgh on sunday evening, and colin patterson was there. after more than 20 years, the trainspotting gang back together, on the orange carpet of the long—awaited sequel. how does this compare to 1996 premiere? i don't remember the 1996 premiere! i really don't, i mean... yeah, for probably a very good reason! aside from all the fun stuff in the first movie, i think people found it relatable. even though it was maybe about subjects they weren't involved in, it was still relatable in some way. this is carrying such a cultural weight, associated with it,

that it feels like no event that i've been to before. choose life, choose a job, choose a career... trainspotting was the defining film of mid—‘90s cool britannia. the movie poster was on students' walls, the soundtrack in their cd players. it dealt with addiction, hedonism, and friendship. so that — what you're looking at is that. so i think they've changed the wall, haven't they? well... earlier in the day the director, danny boyle, took us back to where it all began. we implied that they rushed straight from prince's street, where they're being chased by store detectives, onto this road, and then renton gets hit here by a car. so what have you been up to, for 20 years? since trainspotting, danny boyle has dominated the oscars with slumdog millionaire, and triumphed with the 2012 0lympic opening ceremony.

so why now, for a sequel to the film which made his name? since we made the first movie, people constantly come up to you and talk about the characters like they know them. and that made us think that we had a kind of duty to perhaps turn to it again. here we are, more than 20 years later. how do you make sure this is not the film equivalent of dad—dancing? well, the truth is you can't. part of the responsibility with what we were doing is embracing the fact that we were making a sequel to a story that people know intimately. choose life, choose facebook, twitter, instagram, and hope that someone, somewhere, cares. and the cast are already talking about a third film, based on irvine welsh‘s latest novel. chances of a trainspotting 3? in our60s? yeah, when we're all in our 60s, in some scag—house old—folks home or something. i think the chances are good. irvine hasjust arrived. i'm up for it, he's up for it, so i don't think you've seen the last of begbie just yet.

thank you for your company. some places were lucky enough to catch some sunshine for part two of the weekend, some glorious sunshine in places, albeit rather cold and frosty like this picture shows in suffolk in some areas did hold on to the cloud. low cloud, mist and murk is well liked this weather watch picture proves. through the course of the night it will turn drive through central areas where we see some light rain, sleet and snow, any places turning dry and we will see a fairly widespread frost developing. where you hold the cloud temperatures staying above freezing but under those clear skies well below freezing and fog will become the problem, becoming quite extensive the problem, becoming quite exte ns ive a cross the problem, becoming quite extensive across parts of england and wales and it will become freezing fog across central and south—eastern parts of england. it is likely to cause some problems for

the monday morning commute, some travel disruption on the roads and that major airports as well. had online and bbc local radio for the latest updates before you head off. takeit latest updates before you head off. take it easy on the roads, that fog could be dense in places and freezing fog as well, it will be pretty cold. in some spots the fog will not be affecting, a bit of sunshine as well. patchy fog further north but generally for scotland and northern ireland it is looking dry with some clear spells. temperatures below freezing at 8pm. through the day that fog will tend to clear but may be stubborn to lift across some southern and south—eastern areas. in some areas it will stay grey, foggy and cold all day. temperatures around freezing but for much of the country it will be pretty good during monday. light winds, dry weather, plenty of sunshine. temperatures ranging from 427 celsius but colder than that weather fog lingers on in south—east anglia.

dense and freezing patches to start the morning, slower to clear across the morning, slower to clear across the south—east. a little bit of sunshine developing but further north and west change happening. when picking up from the south—west, increasing cloud and the odd spot of light rain, some of it getting across the irish sea. a bit milder here but still cold across the south—east weather fog holds on. through the course of the week that fog will generally clear as the wind picks up, that wind will be: at first, before by the weekend that should turn milderfor most first, before by the weekend that should turn milder for most of us. this is bbc world news. the headlines: negotiations aimed at ending the conflict in syria are due to get under way in kazakhstan shortly. the talks have the backing of russia, iran and turkey. a special adviser to the gambia's new president, adama barrow, says more than $11 million are missing from the state coffers following the departure of long—time ruler, yahya jammeh. the white house says it's in the early stages of talks to fulfil president trump's

controversial pledge to move the us embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. he spoke to the israeli prime minister on sunday night. france's governing socialist party will choose between benoit hamon and manuel valls as its presidential candidate in april, after they came through the first round of a primary contest yesterday. there'll be a run—off next sunday.